Numerous tasks, for example cutting, cleaning, milling, and kerfing, may be accomplished through the use of a stream of pressurized fluid, typically water, generated by high-pressure, positive displacement pumps or other suitable means. Such pumps pressurize a fluid by having a reciprocating plunger that draws the fluid from an inlet area into a pressurization chamber during an intake stroke, and acts against the fluid during a pumping stroke, thereby forcing pressurized fluid to pass from the pressurization chamber into an outlet chamber, from which it is collected into a manifold. The pressurized fluid is then directed through the nozzle of a tool thereby creating an ultrahigh-pressure jet that may be used to perform a particular task, for example cutting a sheet of metal or cleaning a surface, such as on aircraft parts. Such jets may reach pressures up to and beyond 55,000 psi.
In the past, such ultrahigh-pressure fluid tasks have been accomplished using nozzles that produce a column of pressurized fluid having a circular cross-section. Rotating such a round jet is equivalent to moving a point. As a result, a round jet may be well-suited for direct use in certain tasks, for example, cutting out odd shapes such as a diaper. For other tasks, such as cleaning, round jets require relatively complex methods of use and may not provide optimum results.
For example, when cleaning a surface, it is desirable and often necessary to remove a layer of matter from an underlying surface without damaging the underlying surface. It is also often necessary to have a 100% clean surface. To clean a surface with a round jet, it is necessary to move the round jet, or point, in a circular pattern in an attempt to clean the entire surface. However, such a method produces a pattern in which some areas on the surface being cleaned are hit multiple times while other areas of various shapes are not hit at all by the jet. As a result, the surface is not 100% clean, and the underlying surface will be damaged and uneven.
A need therefore exists for an improved method of cleaning surfaces and accomplishing other ultrahigh-pressure fluid tasks.